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Afro-Arubans
Afro-Arubans are Arubans who have predominantly African ancestry. Afro-Arubans are a minority ethnic group in Aruba and represent 15% of Aruba's population.[1] Like other Arubans, Afro-Arubans speak Papiamento, a Portuguese-based creole language commonly spoken on the ABC islands,[2] as well as Dutch, Spanish, English and other languages. Papiamento dates back at least 300 years and is pre-dominantly based on Afro-Portuguese linguistic structures combined with vocabulary and influences from Spanish, West African languages, Dutch and Amerindian languages.[3] While Aruba had enslaved Africans,[4] most Afro-Arubans today descend from nearby Caribbean islands and nations such as Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Haiti, Jamaica, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, the Lesser Antilles, and South America.[5] Many Afro-Arubans live in Aruba's second largest city, San Nicolaas, located on the southern tip of the island.[6] HistoryAfricans were brought to Aruba by Dutch settlers during the colonial era,[7][8][9] although not in as large numbers as in nearby Curaçao and Bonaire. Many immigrants from the British West-Indies (namely from Trinidad and Grenada) settled in San Nicolaas in the early 20th century, namely to work in the Aruban oil industry. Many brought their local English Creoles and dialects to the town,[10] later developing into what is today known as San Nicolaas English (known locally as Bush English). Notable people
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